Brian Mundubile Wants Your Vote and Your Money

Forensic

Aug 2, 2026 - 16:26

0 3

Brian Mundubile Wants Your Vote and Your Money

On the 1st of August, Brian Mundubile asked his supporters to help fund his party's campaign trail through Western and Southern Province. The response was mixed. Some mocked him, saying he rushed into a presidential run without the resources to back it.

But is asking supporters for money actually wrong? Not really. Running a presidential campaign is expensive. Logistics, entertainment, staging, and getting agents to polling stations nationwide all cost money. Mundubile isn't the first to do this, and he won't be the last. UPND, PF, even MMD have all mobilised resources from supporters in different ways. Fundraisers are standard practice, in Zambia and everywhere else.

The real question isn't whether he's raising money. It's whether he's being transparent about it. How much does the party intend to raise? How much has come in so far? What guarantees do donors have that their money goes toward the campaign, and not into someone's pocket?

Right now, there's no clear answer, because there's no law requiring one. Political party campaign financing in Zambia is essentially unregulated.

That's not for lack of trying. The Political Parties Bill of 2017 would have closed this exact gap. One section required parties to disclose to a Registrar full details of all funds obtained from any source. Had it passed, everyone; NRPUP, UPND, Socialist Party, CF, would be legally required to account for every kwacha raised. Instead, the bill still sits unenacted, nearly a decade later.

Which raises another question. Why now? If the party had steady donors over the past few months, have they pulled out? Have supporters lost confidence in the party's ability to deliver on its mandate? Going by comments from Binwell Mpundu, this fundraiser looks less like a boost and more like something keeping operations running.

None of this should end in ridicule. It should end in reflection. Why aren't we asking harder questions about how political parties raise money in this country, whatever the cost, whether it's contract deals being awarded, taxes being avoided, or donors simply having a say, because there is always a cost, whether we see it directly or not.